Brake hanger wear plate



F. SCHAEFER BRAKE HANGER WEAR PLATE Aug. 28, 1945. I

Filed April 26, 1944 INVENTOR.

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Patented Aug. 28, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE 2,383,743 BRAKE HANGER WEAR PLATE Frederic Schaefer, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application April 26, 1944, Serial No. 532,788

14 laims.

This invention relates to wear plates for the brake hanger brackets of railway car brake riggmg.

A brake hanger bracket is usually a U-shape or jaw-like member having spaced top and bottom walls connected at one end by a vertical end wall. One type of wear plate inserted in such brackets to provide a bearing for a brake hanger is made from a plate bent into U-shape to produce vertically spaced walls that engage the top and bottom walls of the bracket. Due to the brackets being rough castings in which the opposite walls may not be parallel transversely, the wear plates often do not fit'snugly against those walls. This permits the wear plates to vibrate and shake around in the brackets so that the engaging'surfaces are worn excessively.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a wear plate which will seat tightly in brackets regardless of inaccuracies in their shape, which will take up any wear as it occurs, and which, although made by assembling several different elements, is permanently bound together as a unit.

In accordance with this invention the wear plate is formed from a base member provided with a brake hanger seat above which there is a cover member that is engaged by the hanger when it is under compression. These two members are loosely connected together so that they can accommodate themselves to irregularly shaped brackets. To hold the base and cover tightly against the opposite walls of a bracket, resilient means is provided for pressing the two members apart. Preferably, this means includes one or more coil springs compressed between the base and cover. Most suitably, the base member is provided with a socket for receiving the spring the upper end of which bears against the cover. The cover preferably is universally movable relative to the base member to which it may be loosely but permanently connected at one end.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a plan view of my wear plate with the cover member partly broken away; Fig. 2 is a side view thereof showing a brake hanger bracket in broken lines; and Fig. 3 is a reduced front view of the wear plate taken on the line III-III of Fig. 1 to show halfof it in section.

Referring to the drawing, this wear plate has twdmain parts; namely, a base member I and a cover member 2. The base member is formed for seating in the usual manner on the lower wall of a brake hanger bracket 3 indicated in broken lines in Figs. 2 and 3. The inner end of the base is provided with a concave seat 4 extending across it for receiving the upper yoke 6 of a brake hanger, also indicated in broken lines in the same two figures. Directly in front of this seat the base is increased in thickness considerably and is provided near its opposite sides with a pair of downwardly extending sockets 1. In each of these sockets thereis a coil spring 8 that projects a short-distance above it. The front wall of the base curves inwardly or rearwardly between the.

two sockets to form a recess 9 for receiving a ver-, tical fastening member, such as a cotter pin ii, that holds the wear plate in the hanger bracket. Because of the relatively great height of the wall of the recess, the fastener has a considerable area of contact with the wear plate and therefore theywill not wear each other appreciably.

The cover member 2 has its inner end disposed above the hanger and its seat 4 to serve as a bearing surface when the broke hanger is under compression and consequently raised off'its seat on the base member. The cover extends outwardly across the tops of the two coil springs which engage its lower surface, and beyond the front of the base member. The central part of the cover is provided with an opening l5 in alignment with recess 9 in the base to permit fastener H to extend through the cover.

It is a feature of this invention that this wear plate can accommodate and fit itself to brackets in which the upper and lower walls are not parallel to each other transversely. Accordingly, the cover is loosely connected to the'base so that it can float, i. e., move universally relative to the base. For this purpose, the cover preferably is loosely hinged to the front end of the base. Thus, the base may be provided with a forwardly projecting stirrup l6 integrally connected to the upper ends of the two sockets and spaced forwardly of recess 9. The front end of the cover is provided with an integral extension I! that hooks under the stirrup. That is, as shown in Fig. 2, this extension extends down in front of the stirrup, back under it, and then up behind it. The hooked'portion thus formed does not tightly grip the stirrup, but is loose enough to permit the cover to float on the base member. In order to prevent the cover an base from accidentally coming apart when the wear plate is not in use, cover extension l'l extends up behind the stirrup far enough to leave a space between its upper end and the bottom of the cover that is less than the thickness of'the stirrup. The stirrup can not pass through this restricted space, so the cover can not escape from the base member. The cover extension hook engages the stirrup sufficiently, however, to prevent the cover from swinging upwardly far enough to allow the springs to against the resistance of the two coil springs B force the base and cover to seat tightly against the bracket walls that they engage. The wear plate thus fits snugly in the bracket, whereby a great deal of unnecessary wear is eliminated.

According to the provisions of the patent 5 statutes, I have explained the principle and con described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it claims, the invention may bepra'cticed otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

l. A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a ';base member provided with a brake hanger seat, 'a cover member above said seat and loosely-connected to said base for universal movement relative thereto, and separateresilient means pressing said members apart. 2

2. A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a base member provided with a brake hanger seat, a cover member above said seat and loosely connected to said base, and a pair of springs carried by said base in transversely spacedflocations, said springs pressing against the lowersurface of said cover near its opposite side edges. #1 3. A wear plate for use ina railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprisinga base member provided with a brake hanger seat,- a cover member above said seat and loosely. locked to said base or universal movement relative thereto, and separate resilient means pressing saidcover upwardly.

4. A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a; base member provided with a brake hangersean'a i:

cover member above said seat and loosely locked to said base at one end, whereby to rend'ergthe cover universally movable relative--toztheqbase, and a pair of laterally spaced springs compressed between said base and cover. e

5. A wear plate for use in a railway'car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprisinga; base member provided with a brake hanger seat, ;a cover member above said seatv and loosely jCQIlnected to said base, said base being provided; in 2 transversely spaced locations below. the-:cover with downwardly extending. sockets, and coil springs mounted in said sockets and pressingup-i wardl'y against the bottom of the cover.

6. A wear plate for use in a rail'wayi car s brake hanger bracket, said platepoinprising 'a base member provided with a brake hangerseat, a cover member above said seat and looselyconnected to said base, said base beingprovidedzin transversely spaced locations below-the cover with downwardly extending sockets, and coil springs mounted in said sockets and pressing up-- wardly against the bottom of the cover; said eov er and base being provided between saidis'ockets with vertically aligned openings for rec'eivingia bracketattachin'g member.

7. A wear plate for use in a railway carjbrake hanger bracket, said plate comprising 31.11388 member provided withra brake hangerseaig: a cover member above said seat and loosely connected to said base, said base being provided in transversely spaced locations below the cover with downwardly extending sockets,zand.icoi=l springs mounted in said sockets and prssing up wardly against the bottom of the covensaidcow er and base being providedb'etween said'sockets with vertically aligned openings for receiving a bracket attachin member, the opening through the base having high rear and side walls and the front of said opening being unrestricted for most of its height.

8. A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a base struction of my invention and have illustrated and 'Liuniversally movable cover member above said seat, resilient means pressing said cover upunderstood that, Within the scope of the appended member provided with a brake hanger-seat, a

wardly, and means for limiting movement of the cover away from the base.

9 .v A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a base member provided with a brake hanger seat, the upper portion of the base being provided atone end with a stirrup, a cover member above'said seat and having one end hooked under said stirrup, and resilient means pressing'said cover upwardly. a

10. A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a base member. provided with a brake hanger seat, the upper portion of the base being provided at one end with a stirrup, a cover member above said seat and having one end hooked under said stirrup to provide a hinge connection-between the base and cover, and a spring carried by the base a loose connection between cover and bas e;- and resilient means pressing said cover upwardly;

12. A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a base member provided with abrake hanger scat atone end and .an outwardly projecting stirrup -at the other end, a cover member abovesaid seat and having an extension extending down the outside of the stirrup and up the inside of it to a point spaced from the bottom of the cover a distance less than the thicknessv of the stirrup, whereby the cover is locked to the stirrup, andresilient means for pressing the coverupwardly. l

13. A wear plate for use in a railway car brake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a, base member provided with a brake hanger seat at one end, the opposite end of, the basehaving a high wall provided centrally with a verticallyex tending recess adapted to receive a bracket fa's tener, the upper part of said wall on opposite sides oi'said recess being connected by an outwardly projectin stirrup, a cover member above said seat and having an extension loosely hooked under said stirrup, said cover being provided with a-vertical fastener-receiving opening above said recess, and a spring compressed between said base and cover for urging the cover upwardly.

14. A wear plate for use in a railway carbrake hanger bracket, said plate comprising a base member provided with a brake hanger-seat atone end, the opposite end of the base beingprovided- FREDERIC soHAE'FEF-t. 

